Intebnal-combitstioit engine



J, H. BRUBAKER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I2, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Dec. 2,

INVENTOR IBV$Q7U6W 5. H. BRUBAKER. INTERNAL c'owmusnom ENGINE.

APPHCA HON FILED JULY 12 I918,

n Eatented. Dec. 2,1919. 2 SHEETS SHEET JUDD H. BRUBAKER, OF WHITE ROCK, SOUTH DAKOTA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J U'DD H. BRUBAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at White Rock, in the county of Roberts and State of. South Dakota, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to an im-' proved vaporizing meansespecially designed for economizing the aseous fuel of internal combustion engines dry delivering aqueous vapor to the gaseous fuel charges that go from the carbureter to the intake manifold of the engine.

My invention partieularly relates to vaporlzin "means of the "general character stated 1; at incIude aKwater tank fixedly secured upon, or formed'as a part of, the ex haust manifold casing,;an air box or jacket through Which the air is conveyed and heated by contact with the exhaust manifold and, after mixing with steam generated in the water tank, to mix with the fuel charges that pass from the carburetor to the intake manifold of the en ine.

' rimarily, my invention has for its purpose to provide a vaporizing means that can be, with but slight alteration of the conventional type of engine exhaustmanifolds, ap-

- plied to 'en 'nes now in use or embodied therewith, w en applying the eng ne exhaust manifold, and whose construction is simple and economicaliand capable of effectively serving its intended purpose.

With other objects in view, hereinafter apparent, my invention embodies the peculiar features of construction and novel combmation of arts, to be first explained in detail, s ecifica 1y pointed out in the appended c aims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: 1

Figure 1 illustrates, in diagrammatic side elevation, a part of a Ford type of engine with my improved vaporizing means applied, the said vaporizing .means shown as an attachment for the engine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof. 4

. Fig. 3 is adetail perspectiv e view of an exhaust manifold shaped up to receive my im proved attachment thereon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

passes 18 3111160118 vapor being Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed July 12, 1918. Serial No. 244,631.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the air heating box and the steam generating tanks, the said parts being shown separated.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the supplemental hot air box or jacket member hereinaften referred to.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are cross sections taken on the lines 6'6, 7-7, and 88 respectively on Fig.

Referring to the construction of my invention as is particularly illustrated in .Figs. 1

to 8 which'show my invention as an attach ment adapted for. being applied to the conventional type'of exhaust manifolds, 1 designates the exhaust manifold, 2 the intake manifold and 3 the carbureter, all of which 'may be of the Ford type, it being understood that my said invention may be readily modified to be used in connection with other typesof engines and exhaust manifolds.

When applying my improved vaporizing attachment to exhaust manifolds now in use,

the top portion of the manifold l iscut outon the lines a,b, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3, the line I) being preferably located inside oft he induction end 10 to thereby leave a heat radiating surface 4 at that end sufficient for mounting a steam generating tank 5, presently more fully referred to. i

8 designates, what I term, a hot air box or jacket, which, when operatively applied, ex-

tends lengthwise of the exhaust manifold 1,

as is best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, by reference to which it will be noticed that the said box 8 is of an inverted U shape in cross section and has its inner or back end closed and provided with a steam inlet 81, see Figs.

2 and 4.

the lower edges of its sides, which portions,

when the box is attached to the cut manifold, shown in detail in Fig. 3, are welded to the manifold, as indicated at w in Figs. 6 and 7.

83 designates a supplemental hot air box portion, the construction of which is best shown in Fig. 5, and it comprises a body portion 83 of somewhat less width than the box 8 and also of an inverted U shape in cross section. The supplemental portion includes a member 84 provided with a longitudinally extending pendent trough 84 that projects into the top opening of the manifold to provide additional heat radiating surface and it also has horizontal laterals S5-85 that constitute the top closures for the ex haust assage 86 of the manifold 1, see Figs. 6 and 5 Box 8 has an air intake 8 at the front end and an opening 87' above the said intake, the purpose of which will presently appear and, when applied onto the manifold 1, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the rear or closed end 80 of the. 10 box 8 engages the vertical end I) of the inanifold and forms an abutment for engaging with the adjacent inner wall 50 of a steani generating-box 5 that seats onto the top 1 of the manifold 1, as is clearly shown in Figs.

[ 1, 2 and S, and in practice is fixedly attached to the said manifold in any approvedfinanner.

Steam box 5 has a screened vapor outlet' is passed up through the opening 87 at the air intake end of such box 8, whereby to project the nozzle 88 for joining with a devery p pe .or flexible hosesection 91'which cc 'veysthe hot moisture to the carbureter- 3, a is indicated in Fig. 1.

' Ln he practical apphcationof my invention, the air box 8 and the steam generator 5, when made. as an attachment for engines, may be of any s" tziblc sheet metal, prefer ably sheetsteel; but when my improvements are incorporated in building an en- 40 giiie, the said parts 8 and may be of cast metal and integral with the. exhaust manifold.

The supplemental portion 83 of the. air I heater or box 8 is preferably of heavy sheet metalaiid, when applied to the main box 8,

by reason of being of less width than the main heater body or box 8 and having its inner end cut out. as shown in Figs. 2 and '5, provides a mixing compartment X at the said inner end for .eil'cciing a thorough mix- ;ing of the air and steam at that end and for causing the saturated vapor to pass within the longitudinal passages Sit-89 betweenthe adjacent walls of the outer and inner box sections, as is best shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and thereby lax-subjected to a very large area of heat radiating su' .rre before such moistened air turns back and passes to the outlet nozzle 88, as indicated by the arrows on 0 Fig. 2. I

By cutting out the top portion of the exhaust manifold and mounting the bottom portion 84 with its pendent trough-like -member 84 of the supplemental box mem- Mi her 83 over theopeuiiig in the said manifold outlet 88.

1, the said bottom will be held in direct contact .with' the exhaust that passes through the. manifold and thereby materially aids in quickly and effectively heating the cold air before it mixes with the hot vapor from the generator 5 and. in consequence, the aqueous vapor is caused to pass to the otl-iake pipe to the carburetor, in a highly superheated condition.

To provide for separating the heated and saturatedair as it passes through the nozzle from the cold or incoming air, a bafile plate 98 extends inwardly between the air intake and the air outlet opening, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

. In my construction of vaporizing means, the water is fed froni a supply tank 20 mounted upon the dashof the motor driven vehicle from which, it is fed, through-a valve controlled pipe: connection 11, which delivers into a control chamber 95 mounted upon the generator 5 and connected therewith through a PiPGCOl'iliQCtlOIl 96.

97 designates a float valve within the,

chaniber 95 for regulating the ,feed from the said chamber to the generator 5.

To provide ,for quickly vaporizing the.

water fed to the generator 5, the supply tank 20 is preferably formed with a heating jacket 20 that is in communication with and through a pipe connection 20 with theexw haust manifold 1. as shown,

. From the foregoing description taken in connection with the. drawings, the complete construction, the manner of its operation and the advantages of my vaporizing means will be. readily apparent to those skilled in the art to (will b it appertains.

, \Vlieiii'ny improvements are applied to an exhaust manifold. as shown, the air intake ot the box 8 being at the front end, it fol lows that the air entering into the box 8, owing to the suction action ofthe engine and the baille 98 passes inwardly to the hottest end of the box 8 and. after being there thoi' oughly saturated, by interniixing with the steam passing drawn. in a thoroughly saturated condition, through the nozzle 88, and from thence through the pipe connection, to mix with the carburetor charges. as they are delivered from the generator 5, itis to the intake manifold, it;be'iiig understood that the vaporization of the fluid from the supply tank is materially aided by primarily heatingthe, water in the said supply tank,

\VlliClIlS done by leading some of the exhaust from the. manifold 1 into the jacket that surrounds the water in the said snpplytank.

In my construction, the cold ainis'caused to pass over'a large area ot heat radiating surface before it is saturated with the steam and the saturatedair is superheated by further contact. with a large heat radiating surface. as. the said Saturated air passes to the the combination with the intake and ex While the construction shown and described presents a simple, compact, and pre ferred arrangement of my invention, it is obvious that the said showing may be readily modified or amplified without departing from the general features of my invention such as come within the scope of the appended claims.

For example, instead of saturatin the heated air at the end farthest from he air intake, it may be mixed with steam at the nozzle or outlet 88 from the box 8, by passing the steam off through a supplemental chamber ldwhich includes an intake pipe 14: that connects with the top of the generator 5 and a discharge section 15 that communicates with the nozzle outlet 88 to the carbnreter, as shown in the modified structure Fig. 9

In the said modified construction, the supplementalchamber 16 includes a hinged balance valve 17, for example as. shown in detail 'in Fig.'1 0, and which, on the suction stroke of the engine, opens to the. dotted position, and under-the compression engine stroke, closes off the saturating means from the hot air heating box.

To regulate the flow of the vapor from the steam generator, the intake'pipe 1a is provided with a butterfly valve l4", see Figs. 9 and 13, j

What I claim is: 1

1. In an" internal combustion engine, the combination with the intake and exhaust manifolds and the carburetor in connection with'the intake manifold, means for ejecting a moist vapor to mix with with the fuel charges through the carbureter, the said means comprising an air receiving box and a steam nerating ,tank mounted in close contact wlth the exhaust manifold, the said air box having an air inlet at the farthest end from the steam generating tank, means within the air box for directing the air passing into the box over the heat radiating surface of the exhaust manifold, a steam passage connecting the steam. tank and the air box and means for directing the hot air and vapor from the hot air box and a pipe connection joining the said means with the carbureter. I a 2. In a vaporizer for explosive engines,

haust manifolds and the carburetor in connection wtih the intake manifold -'of, a vaporizing means comprising an air holder having an air inlet and a water heating tank, the said air holder and tank being shaped for being supported in close contact with the exhaust manifohha water supply tank, means for directing the exhaust from the exhaust manifold around the said tank to primarily heat the water, a valve feed pipe that 'ioins the water supply tank with thc'watcr 'wlflllg tank on the manifold,

said air holder and water vheating tank being in communication,whereby the steam generated in the last mentioned tank passes otf and into the hot air holder and means coiiperating with the said air holder for creating circulation of the air over the heat radiating surface of the exhaust manifold and for leading oil the vaporized air to the carburcter.

3. A vaporizer comprising a steam generator, a vaporizing box having a chamber provided with an air intake at one end and an inlet at the other end in communication with the-stean'i generator, said vaporizing chamber also inc uding a hood-like portion,

that extends within the intake end of the.

' of the chamber, the said hood-like portion including a discharge nozzle that projects through the forward end oi the vaporizing box and adapted for receivinga pipe connection for delivering the saturated vapor to intermix with the fuel charges from the engine carbureter to the intake manifold.

4:. A vaporizing means forautomobile engines, comprising a hot air box, hoodsha-pe in cross section, and namntcd on top of the forward portion of the exhaust manifold, the said box having an air intake and an outlet in the same end, the latter being above the intake, a steam generating box on the rear end of the exhaust manifold and adjacent the end of the hot air box, means for conveying fluid to the generator from the motor vehicle, said means including a valve control, the hot air box including a supplemental member also hood shape in cross section but of less width than the outer or main box, the said supplemental member being open throughout its length and having a bottoi that seats over the exhaust manifold ant a nozzle that extends through the outlet in the front end of the main box, a steam connection between the generator and the adjacent end of the hot air box and means for coupling the said nozzle with the carburetor.

5. A vaporizing means for automobile engines, comprising a hot air box, hood shape in cross section, and mounted on top of the or main box, the said supplemental member being open throughoutits length arid having a bottom that-soats over the exhaust manifold and a nozzle that extends through the outlet in the front end of the main box, a steam connect-ion between the generator and the adjacent en" of the hot air box 

